On October 11, 2013 Embassy of Ukraine to the HellenicRepublic will held the ceremony of presentation and gifting facsimile edition of the Ukrainian First Book - Peresopnytsia Gospel and the edition „Peresopnytsia Gospel. Origins and Present„ to the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos II. Books have been issued by the Publishing house „ADEF-Ukraine„ with the assistance of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.

The event is held in the framework of social project „Ukrainian community initiatives” to celebrate the 1025^th Anniversary of Crhistianization of Kievan Rus. Scientific Project Manager - Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Mr. Petro Tolochko, Project Manager - Director of the Publishing house „ADEF-Ukraine” Mr. Ihor Shpak.

The Peresopnitsia Gospel – the famous remarkable Manuscript of old Ukrainian language and the art of the XVI century, one of the first Ukrainian translation from the canonical Four Gospels,  national sanctuary of Ukraine.

This is the first example of the Holy Scriptures, translated into Ukrainian literature language that has survived to nowdays. Work on the translation and rewriting the Gospel lasted from 1556 to 1561. The rarity consists of the              964 pages, written on parchment, book`s weight – over 9 kilograms.

The Gospel contains unique material for the study of the Ukrainian language at all levels of interaction and conversational folk and literary elements in Ukrainian literature and written language of the XVI century. Manuscript luxuriously decorated with the gold in the colored miniatures, the work also shows characteristic Ukrainian decorations and initials.

In 2001 transliteration of the book has been published by the Institute of Ukrainian Language. In 2008, the Kyiv Metropolis Ukrainian Orthodox Church in conjunction with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Publishing house „ADEF- Ukraine„ (Kyiv) released a facsimile version (replica). Frames of the book made from leather with decorative elements – the reconstruction of the ancient cover that is not preserved. For the reconstruction of a full color parchment pages of the Gospel was found paper, that  fully corresponds with the parchment in its tactile qualities and texture.

The edition „Peresopnytsia Gospel. Origins and Present” is a translation of  Peresopnytsia Gospel into modern Ukrainian language. In order to make the original texts comprehensible for present-day readers, the left page of each spread of the book is presented in the form of a small copy of the original, and the right - has two columns: the left column - complete transliterated text and right – Revision of modern Ukrainian language.

All Ukrainian Presidents have taken the oath of office on the Peresopnytsia Gospel.

On October this year in the framework of social project „Ukrainian community initiatives” also will be held the ceremony of presentation and gifting facsimile edition of the Ukrainian First Book - Peresopnytsia Gospel and the edition „Peresopnytsia Gospel. Origins and Present„ to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and to the libraries of Athos monasteries.

     Embassy of Ukraine

     to the Hellenic Republic